


Under Her Spell

by SailorStarDust1



Category: Final Fantasy VIII
Genre: Background Irvine/Selphie, Background Zell/Library Girl, F/M, First Time, Implied Sexual Content, Post-Game(s), Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-02-11
Packaged: 2019-10-23 03:29:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17675615
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SailorStarDust1/pseuds/SailorStarDust1
Summary: The night of the victory party: Reflections and a private celebration with that exhausting day now behind them.





	Under Her Spell

**Author's Note:**

> Happy 20th anniversary to (IMHO) the best FF game! This game’s always captured my heart emotionally that I just had to _finally_ write something for Squinoa❤️

He was truly captivated by her wordless breath while she slept in his arms, her soft face nuzzling his chest. Maybe that was the reason he couldn’t drift away just yet.

Balamb Garden’s victory party had been, in all honesty...fun. Laughing with their friends, enjoying good food and conversation, visiting Matron again under happier circumstances...

A private celebration—kisses snuck on the Garden balcony growing more heated with each passing minute—quickly evolved into pure magic between himself and Rinoa. She smiled mischievously once heat rose to her cheeks. “...Squall...” He gently grasped her hand, nodding.

By a small miracle, nobody took notice of the couple retiring to Squall’s private dorm—maybe Irvine, but he was preoccupied in swapping video camera duty with Selphie to bother teasing. Those two seemed to be getting awfully cozy on their own, tonight.

His cowboy hat looked pretty cute on Selphie.

Zell, having overcome nearly choking and nausea, cast an embarrassed smile to the pigtailed library girl (Squall couldn’t remember her name). She laughed lightly before offering him a glass of water, a quietly adorable contrast to Zell’s bouts of hyperactivity. Quistis held back laughter, attempting to maintain composure by chatting with some other students.

Presently, Squall shifted his position slightly, not wanting to disrupt Rinoa’s rest. She sighed, content, once he stroked her long hair which fell on bare shoulders. Whatever occurred between her and Seifer was in the past—more importantly—her private business.

Still, there was no embarrassment or anxiety between them. For Squall’s part, his fear of abandonment virtually disappeared. The closer they grew on their adventure, the more he found it mystifying that he lived without any love in life for as long as he had...Since his days at the orphanage, missing “Sis”. Maybe he could even begin to understand Laguna a little better?

Rinoa would certainly love to tag along once he felt like paying a visit to Esthar City.

_It’s too surreal. A guy like that’s really my…? Whatever. I’ll worry about it later._

Deeply relaxing in their embrace, he slowly sighed through his nose. Breathing in the scent of Rinoa’s hair and skin, she smelled so very good.

He hadn’t been able to help himself tonight, despite her gentle teasing throughout their kisses, caresses, and more. Finally exploring one another simply felt so right. So very... _real_.

* * *

Mere hours ago, a lonely trek through an unchanging desert landscape morphed into a...crater?

Like a boomerang returned to its owner, Time Compression began a vast unraveling, flow of time returning everything to rightful eras of past, present, and future. Those things yet unseen.

_Was everyone able to meet up, thanks to Laguna’s advice? Did they all find each other again?_

Squall was wandering. Adrift. He was unable to make his way back home. To his friends. To _her_.

 _Where…?_ He felt so very cold, unable to discern the view ahead. Feeling on the verge of death, he continued stumbling through mental darkness. His hazy, fragmented, memories.

“Rinoa...Rinoa...”

A pure white angel feather in his palm...? Something about a field of flowers...a promise...and a girl wearing blue with a gentle smile, laughter in her eyes....

He wanted to remember her face.

...Who was he?

He wanted to remember her name.

... _Where_ was he?

He wanted to remember _her_.

...Why couldn’t he...?

A promise...of meeting again...

_Where…!_

No good. His brain was overloading, overheating, overwhelmed at the sudden flood of various emotions.

_What if she never existed to begin with?!_

Tears.

Utterly defeated, that final jolt forward overloaded every fiber of his being. Accepting darkness, pure nothingness, was a welcome alternative to that cruel potential reality.

“... _Squall_...!”

His skin was icy to her touch. Rinoa, having found him in their promised, secret place, clutched her Knight’s crumpled body tightly. Close to her heart.

The final Sorceress offered a silent prayer—a tiny bit of magic—throughout windy flower fields. Had she been in better spirits, she would’ve brimmed with curiosity about other planets and time periods full of Mages, those souls equally strong in their magic abilities.

Fresh tears stung the corners of her eyes. _Wake up._ Pink flowers mingling with heaven-sent feathers through a blustery stretch of sunny fields made for a remarkable display.

_Wake…up! Squall, please…_

His deep voice slowly, suddenly, murmuring her name wasn’t a dream, nor was her soft body immediately enveloping his in a tighter-than-tight hug...!

_We promised each other, right?_

* * *

“...Mmh...”

Squall opened his eyes, brought away from quiet reflections due to Rinoa waking up.

His smile was full of warmth. “It’s not morning yet.”

She smiled sleepily in turn, eyes still shut while whispering a reply. “That’s alright.”

Her knees bumped against his before she lay atop him. So warm. She didn’t want to leave his bed anytime soon. Her fingers absentmindedly played with their rings on her necklace.

“Any idea where Angelo is?”

“With Selphie and the others. I’m sure she’ll be pawing at my door soon enough.”

She yawned, an eye opening—glittering—from clear mischief. “How awake are you right now~?”

“What are you planning?” He held back laughter to the best of his ability, recalling his more stoic way of life. Her cheer proved too much for him.

Sorceress she now was, Rinoa certainly had cast a silent spell during their first meeting, one Squall couldn’t help fall for.

“Oh, nothing _too_ bad~” She laughed, nuzzling his chest while planting butterfly kisses. Sharing the night truly was a wonderful dream turned into reality. Certainly a stark contrast from the brief excitement that a summer fling gave her. Despite her occasional frustrations regarding Squall’s more negative points, she wouldn’t look back on the past.

There was no need to worry anymore. If being a Sorceress included finding the means to resolve tensions held between the different nations, then she’d gladly accept.

“I was just thinking...” She nibbled his ear before whispering, “If you’re not busy tomorrow, let’s pay a visit to Esthar.”

Immediately, Squall facefaulted. _I knew it. You’re just interested in whatever juicy family gossip Laguna will share, aren’t you?_

Considering it, his eyes fell to their disheveled clothes on the floor. “Rinoa, it’s a day’s trip.”

“C’mon, don’t make that face. It’ll be fun, right?”

“Spending the entire day listening to Laguna’s awful jokes? I don’t know...”

She planted a kiss on the scar across his face, grinning.

“Hey.” Her playful smile was weirdly serious once their eyes locked. “Don’t you want to learn about your roots? And hang out with your dad?”

 _That’s not it. I mean, how do I even_ begin  _to develop that sort of bond with him? Still, I…_

“...Yeah. I do.” Rinoa already lightly snored above him. Loosely embracing Rinoa’s waist, with tired eyes, sleep took hold of his foggy mind, as well.

Even in sleep, her smile was truly infectious: Squall’s own smile didn’t let up.


End file.
